In the late 1930s, a feature called "Pierre's Professional Recipes for the Housewife" was syndicated to newspapers across the country by J.C. Mutty of Rochester, New York. It was a comic strip featuring a French chef, complete with a mustache and white chef's hat, demonstrating in simple, easy-to-follow illustrations, how to prepare main courses for evening meals. That is, if the Depression-era housewives reading the strip in their local papers could afford things like baked ham, lamb shoulder and crown roast. In some American households at the time, the family was lucky to get canned soup and crackers for dinner.
Still, for people interested in old recipes and chef lore, these comic strips are rather interesting and the recipes might be worth trying, if one has the gumption. The samples reprinted below originally appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune from 1937-1938.
Dixie Baked Ham
(originally published July 20, 1937)
Roast Lamb Shoulder
(originally published January 7, 1938)
Sauerbraten
(originally published January 13, 1938)
Crown Roast of Pork or Lamb
(originally published January 21, 1938)
Shepherd's Roast
(originally published June 17, 1938)
